Merry Christmas

They said there'll be snow at christmas
They said there'll be peace on earth
But instead it just kept on raining
A veil of tears for the virgin's birth
I remember one Christmas morning
A winter's light and a distant choir
And the peal of a bell and that christmas tree smell
And their eyes full of tinsel and fire

Some lyrics from my favourite Christmas song 'I believe in Father Christmas' by Greg Lake and Peter Sinfield.  I'm thrilled to see that U2 have done a cover of this song - for Red Wire - but nothing beats the original.



What is (Red) Wire ? - (RED)WIRE is a digital music magazine with one very important difference.  It not only changes the way music is discovered, it provides medicine for people who need it in Africa.

Boxes and Bundles and no Work today

There is a big box that has appeared in our house!  It's not particularly pretty looking (except in my eyes) and it doesn't have a big red bow on top, but that hasn't quelled my excitement - I'll tell more later!!

Today is the day David and I have been married for eight whole years.  We are not very gifty people so I was surprised to find a bundle wrapped and tied with string on the chair as I came to sit at the computer this morning.  It's soft and squishy - I have an idea what it might be, but am somehow relishing the thought that I have an unwrapped gift sitting next to me.  If I sit here too long I might have to open it, but at the minute I am enjoying the memories of that magic of wrapped gifts from years gone by.  Not knowing, but wondering.

David left me another surprise for this morning too!  New wallpaper for Windows!  I'm not sure when this was taken - chances are I was off in the land of dreams just like Raff.  I tell you, this cat sleeps in the strangest positions, but then don't they all!

[caption id="attachment_1208" align="alignnone" width="360" caption="Our little boy sleeping.."][/caption]

No work today? I was supposed to have three appointments with one realtor, but he called last night to postpone them until the New Year - woohoo! Christmas has begun!

Make your advertising interesting!

I started out this morning looking for something Christmassy to put up here.

I went to YouTube and my mind started wandering onto the subject of monkeys...   which in turn brought me round to some of my very favourite monkeys from years gone by -



Now who could resist buying PG Tips with commercials like these? There's a whole series of them if you search YouTube.

Then I came across this Wintery ad for Irn Bru - why can't all commercials be like these?



The moral of this post?  People are more likely to pay attention to your advertising if you make it fun and interesting!

So did I end up finding anything Christmassy?? You bet!

Don't Panic!

If something doesn't look quite right it's because I'm searching for the perfect 'theme' for my blog.  I might be trying some new looks  so bear with me ;-)

I'll probably end up right back at square one, but you never know!

The 12 Days of Christmas - Aardman-style

One of my favourite Christmas things!

WC Calendar is DONE!

I volunteered myself for a project this year - creating a calendar for the Glass Arts section of Wet Canvas - an online community of Artist's of all medias.

[caption id="attachment_986" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="WC calendar cover"][/caption]

I hang out in the Glass Arts area a LOT, so it seemed like a natural thing to do.  I had good ideas and great input.

[caption id="attachment_987" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="WC calendar - down by the sea"][/caption]

I had a schedule planned of when I'd call for pictures and when I'd have certain months finished by.  Well, of course what is it that they always say 'the best laid plans...'

[caption id="attachment_988" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="WC calendar - celebrating Beads of Courage"][/caption]

Finally, finally, I have it finished.  It's uploaded to Cafepress and hopefully will print alright for everyone who orders it.  It's a nervous thing!! I just hope I have everything right and that it prints as it should and that people are happy with what they get.

[caption id="attachment_989" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="WC calendar - Black Tie and White Hat!"][/caption]

If you click on the images you should get to the larger versions of them.  All I can say is there is an awful lot of talent in our glassy section of the forums, and this calendar showcases just the tip of it!

The calendar is available at Cafepress - here's the link - no-one is making any money from the sales except Cafepress so don't feel obliged to purchase one, but if you are interested in seeing the other months, they are all up there!  ---I hope they are!!  Or I am in real trouble!

Acobox.com has Monkeys!

"Will someone PLEASE tell her that REAL Monkeys don't wear scuba masks??!"

Thanks Rita for the info on acobox!
Acobox.com has all kinds of images that you can use for your blog!

Never Get Your Hair Cut Right Before A Show...

And never, never go near a hairdresser who's having a baaaaad day!!

Yesterday I went to get my hair cut so I'd look tidy for the show on Saturday.  My usual lady wasn't there and a  younger cutter stepped in to do the job.

It's not that it's a bad cut, it's just that I feel like my my bangs are the longest hairs on my head and that the hairline follows them around above my ears and across the back of my head.  Do I mean neck?  NO I mean HEAD - I don't think my hair has ever been this short at the back before.

Imagine a scene from Edward Scissorhands

[caption id="attachment_894" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="It was EXACTLY like this!!"][/caption]

Except the cutter wasn't Johnny Depp, and there weren't crowds of admiring onlookers!  ...and I'm not blonde.

While the hair flew, the cutter ranted about all the things that weren't quite right in her life that day.  Oh my gosh, I didn't even have time to yell 'STOP'!!  My neck has never been so naked in it's entire life, I told David that I need to go and get some hair extensions before Saturday, either that or I need a really high turtle neck sweater!!

It will grow, it will grow, it will grow....

Tag I'm it and a Brooch to go APE over!

Well, I woke up this morning, and you were on my mind... you were on my mind...  Oh sorry, too little sleep has me starting the day off with a song!  Let me try again.

I woke up this morning to find I had been tagged by Rita's Rambles - Thank you Rita!

What does this mean you might ask?  Well I will tell you, here are the rules -

Here are the rules of tagging
1. Link to tagger and display these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself - some random, some WEIRD.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by including links to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Now I have to find SEVEN people to tag!  Bet you are all quaking in your boots!

Before I do the weird stuff and tagging, I want to quickly share this wonderful brooch that Meghann Gervais made for my right before my very eyes yesterday!  I love visiting Meghann because she's super talented and loves too bake, so there's always something yummy on the go as well!  Yesterday she sent me home with a whole half of her delicious bundt cake that was still warm and moist and crammed with cranberries.   Ooooh I felt so special :oD

The brooch?  Oh yes, here it is!

[caption id="attachment_856" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Marmite - Spread the World!"]

Go Ape over Monkees Brooch!

What are YOU envious about?

There's a new topic on the Flaming Hot Blog and it's asking what or who we are envious of and who is envious of us.

This got me thinking, I don't know if anyone is envious of me or what they would be envious of, it's funny, it's very easy to be envious of someone else, but very hard to imagine someone being envious of me.

Who am I envious of?  Apart from specific beadmaker's who've mastered techniques that I haven't, I guess I'm envious of anyone who's got a real studio set-up.  Of anyone who doesn't have to worry about freezing cold temperatures in the winter when having a window and door open and fan going for ventilation just doesn't work!

If I'm honest I'm also envious of Artists who don't need to have another job to support themselves and their family.  That seems selfish though, as I know when I look at my life I am so fortunate to have what I do, and to have the family and friends I do around me who are so supportive of all my glass endeavours.

Best Pet of The Year!!

Thanks to Marcy Lamberson of Studio Marcy for pointing out this exciting opportunity for my Monkees!

Postcards for The Ottawa Bead and Jewellery Show

I volunteered David to put together some postcards for the Ottawa Bead and Jewellery Show, we are all delighted with them so I'm going to show them off here. He did a wonderful job of getting everyone's beads fitted in, and I am speechless at the quality of work that's going to be at the show!

Nortel Mfg have  very kindly said they will send some out with their orders and they are also going to be distributed at shows here in Ottawa and in Toronto.  As well they will be available for customers at local bead stores.

For some reason Internet Explorer has decided not to show some of these images - I've no idea why, I uploaded the same as all my other images and they are showing fine in my Firefox browser, so my apologies if you are getting that nasty red X !







[caption id="attachment_592" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Ottawa Bead and Jewellery Show - card four"][/caption]

Things are happening

I'm feeling excited, it seems like a lot of positive things are happening at the minute.  My thoughts are exploding in my brain!!  Oh wait, that doesn't sound positive does it?  Well it is, or it will be once they all get lined up and settled down.

So what is all the excitement about?

1. I just heard that my submission for the Women in Glass edition of The Flow magazine has been accepted!


2. The deadline for Artistry In Glass' next competition is almost upon us! I sent some pictures off for that this morning.


3. I am in a treasury on Etsy! Thank you PrettyCheap!
   
   [caption id="attachment_576" align="alignnone" width="425" caption="Etsy Treasury"][/caption]


4. I'm so happy to have found Meghann as we've got lots of ideas for future projects including fundraising for local animal charities.  Our first joint endeavor will be a donation to the Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary who are going to be having an auction.  We are thinking about creating a two piece set - a bracelet and brooch, so I need to get the torch fired up for this!


5. The First Annual Ottawa Glass Bead Artist's Show in November is something I am so proud to be a part of.  If you click the link you will be amazed at the talented bead makers who are going to be taking part in this event!  If you can make it to Ottawa on November 15th - don't miss this event!


6. My online Wet Canvas friends have set up a Google group to explore ways in which we can promote our work and I'm finding it very helpful.  Online selling is a very competitive thing, but there are lots of tricks and tools to help you get your name and your beads - or other product out there for people to see.  One of our members Maxine just made a $100 sale on Etsy!  Congratulations Maxine!

Women in Glass Edition of The Flow

The deadline is fast approaching for the 'Women in Glass' edition of The Flow Magazine. I've just sent off some submissions for their gallery, one of which is these little guys -

[caption id="attachment_563" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="No Peeking!!"][/caption]

I like the way they turned out, the middle one makes me laugh, he's got such an innocent look on his face while the outer two are obviously full of mischief!

I believe the submission deadline is Sept 20th, - if you want to send something to them the link with all the info is HERE

Monkees are everywhere!

Everywhere I go I'm finding monkees,

[caption id="attachment_453" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="one of many monkees"]

[/caption]

I was trying to find a way to put an image in my email signatures on Google, where do I end up?  Greasemonkey - it's an add on for Firefox that lets you install new features.  Now I have this little guy sitting in the corner of my browser, well he's cuter than this guy actually.

So - mailchimp, grease monkey -- what next?  Driving in the car I hear a story of a monkey that escaped from a wildlife place not too far from here, I arrive at my friend's house and her sock monkey is eyeing me from the chair and when she shows me her knitting magazine I turn to a page that has not one but two monkeys on it.  I tell you they are popping up all over the place!  I was looking through Halloween listings on Etsy and found this, which didn't seem particularly Halloweenish, but it's so cute it left me wanting a new hat for the winter ;o)

Yep, monkees are everywhere it seems...

Etsy Teams?

Since joining Etsy last year I've been finding my away around slowly, every now and then I hear a new word like 'treasuries' and 'street teams'.

It's like learning a new language, but I'm happy to say I've finally plucked up courage to join two Etsy Teams.

What is an Etsy Team you might ask, well here's my definition -

An Etsy Team is a group of like minded people who work towards promoting the values of their Team.  This is an excellent way to raise the profile of your Etsy Shop, meet Etsians with similar interests and network in general.  Depending on the team there may be requirements to join, you may have to pay advertising costs or participate in different ways to promote the team.  Here's a link to the Etsy list of teams .

Here are the two teams I have joined -



Capital Crafters is a group of Etsy sellers who live in the Ottawa area of Ontario.  It's nice, because it's a friendly little group with quite diverse talents, to see what items are available from this group all you need do is search with the words ottawa team within Etsy.

My other choice is EFA (Etsy for Animals) - Artists Helping Animals.

[caption id="attachment_539" align="alignnone" width="360" caption="Artists Helping Animals"][/caption]

I'll write a separate post for EFA as this is a large team with a lot of things happening!  I can say, I'm really excited about joining this team!

OH MY!

[caption id="attachment_512" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Borrowed from BBC Radio Bristol"][/caption]

Isn't Wallace looking dashing these days! Apparently he's been doing some modelling for the Harvey Nichols store in Bristol. I'm not mentioning her as everyone knows Wallace should be with Wendolene .

Gromit's looking pretty chic, does anyone think that Wallace is looking a little like Neil Tennant in that bottom pic? Or is Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys) looking more like Wallace? Or am I just confused?

[caption id="attachment_494" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Neil Tennant"][/caption]

And while we are on the subject of look-a-likes-or-not, it struck me that Ed Robertson (Barenaked Ladies)



looks somewhat like my new bead who just happens to be called -- Ed!



Maybe this whole post is just a lesson in how not to write blog posts until after the third mug of tea in the morning.

Trying something new

Lets see if I can add some entertainment ...

What can I say - this is brilliant!

Crowded House - Dont Stop Now

Just for FUN

Ever wanted to see your name in lights? Well, maybe your beads on a building?

Here are the Moos Brothers brightening the side of this construction site! All of a sudden I feel larger than life!

Flash, Bang, Wallop!

Well, it might not have been quite as spectacular as that, but it certainly sounded like it!

This summer seems to have been a never ending round of thunderstorms and rain, and Friday 18th, was no different.

I'd had a busy work day and was trying to process my photographs when storms started. In the end I shut everything down because I was getting nervous, ...and it was supper time! After supper it seemed like the last of the storm was trailing off into the distance and since I still had a lot of work to do I headed back to the computer. I don't think I'd been there five minutes when there was an ear shattering explosion of thunder and almost as big a bang from the computer. I screamed and I'm sure jumped out of my chair.

The internet had been down since I got in from work, but now the computer was down as well. Ugh! Husband David was nearly down as well, he'd been putting out the compost when that lightning struck - we're beginning to think he's some kind of magnet as that was his second close call in as many weeks.

What did we loose? A motherboard, power supply, speakers, telephone answering machine, internet and part of our satellite tv signal.

One week later - well, almost - internet was finally restored the following Thursday. I was on an imposed vacation from work, which would have been nice except I seemed to be spending hours on the phone trying to get things sorted out, it's so comforting to know I can talk to people in India for the cost of a local call to my phone company :oS

I could write a long story about my horrors of dealing with service departments and technicians, but I won't. There were some stunning moments, like when the satellite installer - a military man by all accounts, told me he'd probably be able to get my 20 year old tv to work with the satellite remote, even though it did not even have a sensor for any kind of remote. I thought he might be GOD. Then there was the instance of the internet cable installer (I thought -by his screams- he'd stapled his eyeball to the house or something much worse), who got stung by a wasp, I've never heard a grown man scream like that before - I'm so relieved that he'll never have to experience childbirth firsthand.

Please note, this is not the internet cable installer, but you get the idea!

All in all, it was an exhausting week, but we now have a computer and internet again, even if I can only use it for the five minutes a day that the thunder is not rolling through!